Latest news with #ThyArtIsMurder
Daily Mail
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Brand new Aussie music festival announces 2026 tour dates… but can it save the country's failing industry?
Metalcore band Parkway Drive has announced a new music festival, and it could be the big break the live music scene has been waiting for. Park Waves Festival is coming to Australia in 2026 and will bring a slew of artists to cities across the country. Between February and March, the heavy metal music gig will do a full lap of the map, kicking off in Perth, then Adelaide, several locations in Victoria and NSW, Byron Bay, and Sandstone Point, Queensland. Parkway Drive, who recently played a special 'black tie' event at the Sydney Opera House, tested the waters with their festival format in Europe last year, taking Fit For A King and Thy Art Is Murder to Germany for a head-banging night of music. Popular music festivals have been dropping like flies over the past year, with Listen Out being the latest casualty of Australia's dwindling music scene. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. The annual Australian festival, which has been held in Sydney, Perth, Melbourne and Brisbane since September 2013, will not go ahead for 2025. The team behind the event shared the sad news in an Instagram post on Monday. 'Okay... deep breath. This one's tough. Listen Out won't be going ahead this year,' the post read. 'We've always tried to build something special where the lineup reflects the culture and the energy flows both ways between the artists and you,' it continued. 'The last few years have been tough. So, we're hitting pause on Listen Out as you know it. But we're not going anywhere.' The festival will take a new form, called Listen Out Presents, which will involve 'one-off carefully curated parties in killer locations around Australia all year long'. 'We're still here for the good times... just in a new way. We're not saying anything else... for now,' the social media post read. The first of these events is set to take place in Perth in the near future, featuring 'some of the best artists in the world'. Listen Out is one of many festivals that have faced the axe in a spate of cancellations in the past year. R'n'B festival Souled Out was cancelled in February, with all three shows in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane dropped. Victorian event The Esoteric Psychedelic Circus Festival was also canned. Likewise, organisers announced earlier this year that Splendour in the Grass will not be returning in 2025.
The Advertiser
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Advertiser
Parkway Drive is coming to Maitland: here's what we know
Maitland, are you ready to rock? Parkway Drive is bringing the hard-hitting Park Waves festival to Maitland Showground in March. The line-up has yet to be released. All we have is a date. The band posted teasers about the 11-date regional festival on social media on Tuesday night, urging fans to register for line-up drops and presale information at The first Park Waves was launched by Parkway Drive in Dresden, Germany, on July 6, 2024. The good news is, Parkway Drive headlined that festival. The line-up also included fellow Australian bands Thy Art Is Murder and Alpha Wolf. Parkway Drive is working with promoters Destroy All Lines on the Australian version of Park Waves. It's been a busy 12 months for Parkway Drive, who played at the Sydney Opera House with a full symphonic orchestra for a one-off homecoming show in June as part of their forthcoming feature documentary and live album, HOME, which will celebrate the band's 20-year creative journey to date. "For over two decades, we have carried our home in our hearts as we roamed around the world," Parkway Drive vocalist Winston McCall said in the lead-up to the Opera House gig. "Australia has made us; from the dirt to the sky, it is who we are." The band formed in Byron Bay in 2003 and released their debut EP Don't Close Your Eyes in 2004. A year later, Parkway Drive flew to America to record their debut full-length album, 2005's Killing with a Smile. Subsequent albums have explored a range of styles and sounds, from the dexterous metalcore on 2007's Horizons through to the melodic rawness of 2018's Reverence and, most recently, the arena-ready Darker Still (2022). Considered one of the most dominant pioneering forces of Australian heavy music, Parkway Drive has performed at every high-profile festival across the globe, including multiple headline billings. The band has won three ARIA awards to date, and has had three No.1 ARIA album debuts, six ARIA Gold-certified albums, millions of streams and hundreds of millions of YouTube views. Maitland, are you ready to rock? Parkway Drive is bringing the hard-hitting Park Waves festival to Maitland Showground in March. The line-up has yet to be released. All we have is a date. The band posted teasers about the 11-date regional festival on social media on Tuesday night, urging fans to register for line-up drops and presale information at The first Park Waves was launched by Parkway Drive in Dresden, Germany, on July 6, 2024. The good news is, Parkway Drive headlined that festival. The line-up also included fellow Australian bands Thy Art Is Murder and Alpha Wolf. Parkway Drive is working with promoters Destroy All Lines on the Australian version of Park Waves. It's been a busy 12 months for Parkway Drive, who played at the Sydney Opera House with a full symphonic orchestra for a one-off homecoming show in June as part of their forthcoming feature documentary and live album, HOME, which will celebrate the band's 20-year creative journey to date. "For over two decades, we have carried our home in our hearts as we roamed around the world," Parkway Drive vocalist Winston McCall said in the lead-up to the Opera House gig. "Australia has made us; from the dirt to the sky, it is who we are." The band formed in Byron Bay in 2003 and released their debut EP Don't Close Your Eyes in 2004. A year later, Parkway Drive flew to America to record their debut full-length album, 2005's Killing with a Smile. Subsequent albums have explored a range of styles and sounds, from the dexterous metalcore on 2007's Horizons through to the melodic rawness of 2018's Reverence and, most recently, the arena-ready Darker Still (2022). Considered one of the most dominant pioneering forces of Australian heavy music, Parkway Drive has performed at every high-profile festival across the globe, including multiple headline billings. The band has won three ARIA awards to date, and has had three No.1 ARIA album debuts, six ARIA Gold-certified albums, millions of streams and hundreds of millions of YouTube views. Maitland, are you ready to rock? Parkway Drive is bringing the hard-hitting Park Waves festival to Maitland Showground in March. The line-up has yet to be released. All we have is a date. The band posted teasers about the 11-date regional festival on social media on Tuesday night, urging fans to register for line-up drops and presale information at The first Park Waves was launched by Parkway Drive in Dresden, Germany, on July 6, 2024. The good news is, Parkway Drive headlined that festival. The line-up also included fellow Australian bands Thy Art Is Murder and Alpha Wolf. Parkway Drive is working with promoters Destroy All Lines on the Australian version of Park Waves. It's been a busy 12 months for Parkway Drive, who played at the Sydney Opera House with a full symphonic orchestra for a one-off homecoming show in June as part of their forthcoming feature documentary and live album, HOME, which will celebrate the band's 20-year creative journey to date. "For over two decades, we have carried our home in our hearts as we roamed around the world," Parkway Drive vocalist Winston McCall said in the lead-up to the Opera House gig. "Australia has made us; from the dirt to the sky, it is who we are." The band formed in Byron Bay in 2003 and released their debut EP Don't Close Your Eyes in 2004. A year later, Parkway Drive flew to America to record their debut full-length album, 2005's Killing with a Smile. Subsequent albums have explored a range of styles and sounds, from the dexterous metalcore on 2007's Horizons through to the melodic rawness of 2018's Reverence and, most recently, the arena-ready Darker Still (2022). Considered one of the most dominant pioneering forces of Australian heavy music, Parkway Drive has performed at every high-profile festival across the globe, including multiple headline billings. The band has won three ARIA awards to date, and has had three No.1 ARIA album debuts, six ARIA Gold-certified albums, millions of streams and hundreds of millions of YouTube views. Maitland, are you ready to rock? Parkway Drive is bringing the hard-hitting Park Waves festival to Maitland Showground in March. The line-up has yet to be released. All we have is a date. The band posted teasers about the 11-date regional festival on social media on Tuesday night, urging fans to register for line-up drops and presale information at The first Park Waves was launched by Parkway Drive in Dresden, Germany, on July 6, 2024. The good news is, Parkway Drive headlined that festival. The line-up also included fellow Australian bands Thy Art Is Murder and Alpha Wolf. Parkway Drive is working with promoters Destroy All Lines on the Australian version of Park Waves. It's been a busy 12 months for Parkway Drive, who played at the Sydney Opera House with a full symphonic orchestra for a one-off homecoming show in June as part of their forthcoming feature documentary and live album, HOME, which will celebrate the band's 20-year creative journey to date. "For over two decades, we have carried our home in our hearts as we roamed around the world," Parkway Drive vocalist Winston McCall said in the lead-up to the Opera House gig. "Australia has made us; from the dirt to the sky, it is who we are." The band formed in Byron Bay in 2003 and released their debut EP Don't Close Your Eyes in 2004. A year later, Parkway Drive flew to America to record their debut full-length album, 2005's Killing with a Smile. Subsequent albums have explored a range of styles and sounds, from the dexterous metalcore on 2007's Horizons through to the melodic rawness of 2018's Reverence and, most recently, the arena-ready Darker Still (2022). Considered one of the most dominant pioneering forces of Australian heavy music, Parkway Drive has performed at every high-profile festival across the globe, including multiple headline billings. The band has won three ARIA awards to date, and has had three No.1 ARIA album debuts, six ARIA Gold-certified albums, millions of streams and hundreds of millions of YouTube views.
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Park Waves Is Coming': Parkway Drive Tease New Australian Festival
Parkway Drive are ready to bring the storm home. After successfully launching their self-curated Park Waves festival in Germany last year, the Australian metalcore titans have hinted at an Australian edition. The Byron Bay outfit and tour promoters Destroy All Lines recently shared a cryptic teaser across social media. The clip shows the band tearing through massive Australian stages, backed by footage of wild crowds and Parkway's trademark pyrotechnics, before the words 'COMING SOON' appear on screen. More from Billboard Lewis Capaldi Donates 734,000 Hours of Free Therapy to Those in Need: 'This Is My Way of Giving Back' Wu-Tang Clan's RZA Celebrated His 56th Birthday Jamming Out to Phish Believe It Or Not, Ozzy Osbourne and Axl Rose Had Never Met Before Final Black Sabbath Show: 'An Utter Gentleman' 'Parkway Drive are up to something 👀 Get ready for the next wave… PARK WAVES IS COMING,' reads the caption. Fans eager for updates can now register at the Park Waves website and follow its social media channels for official announcements. Originally debuting in Dresden, Germany, in 2024, Park Waves quickly established itself as a destination festival for heavy music fans. The lineup featured Parkway Drive as headliners, alongside Dying Fetus, Fit For A King, Erra, and fellow Aussies Thy Art Is Murder and Alpha Wolf, blending international acts with a healthy dose of homegrown brutality. The Australian teaser arrives as Parkway Drive continue to make history. Just weeks ago, they became the first metalcore band to headline the Sydney Opera House, performing a sold-out show with a symphonic orchestra. Earlier this year, they also sold out Australia's inaugural metal cruise, Hellbound. Currently co-headlining the Summer of Loud tour across the U.S., Parkway Drive are also celebrating their 20th anniversary as a band—a milestone few in their genre have achieved. Parkway Drive first formed in the coastal New South Wales town of Byron Bay in 2003, issuing their debut album two years later. They received their first top ten album in Australia with 2007's Horizons, which also hit No. 27 on the Top Heatseekers charts. 2010's Deep Blue launched a four-record run which saw the group consecutively charting within the top 40 of the Billboard 200, with 2015's Ire resulting in a peak of No. 29. Alongside becoming their first release to top the Top Hard Rock Albums chart, Ire also was their first of three consecutive records to top the Australian charts. Their 2022 album Darker Stil saw them receive their third ARIA Award for best hard rock or heavy metal album For updates and to register for early info, visit Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
The Guardian
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘It's unfeasible to run this model much longer': is this the end of the Australian regional tour?
In late April, Australian folk singer-songwriter Kim Churchill took to Instagram with a plea to his fans. After driving 2,500km to Cairns on a national tour with more than 50 stops, Churchill warned that his show at Tanks Arts Centre was teetering on being cancelled. 'Ticket sales have been so slow,' he wrote. 'It's looking like it's going to cost me $3,000 to $5,000 to play my own show.' Days later, accompanying a video of cheering fans, the singer wrote that the show broke even two hours before doors – and that he'd 'do it all again' for Cairns. This 11th-hour turnaround exemplifies the high-wire risks and rewards of regional touring for Australian musicians. This year, a host of high-profile artists have toured regional Australia, including Fanning Dempsey National Park, Sarah Blasko, Northlane, Lime Cordiale and Amy Shark, with hard-crunching bands Thy Art is Murder and Make Them Suffer heading out this month. Meanwhile, in the wake of the demise of Groovin the Moo, regional festival Spilt Milk – held later this year – has pulled off the show-stopping 2025 double bill of Kendrick Lamar and Doechii, while Tasmania's independent Party in the Paddock festival drew record crowds in February. Amid these promising signs, Australian artists are measuring a genuine desire to take their music to regional areas against significant financial, logistical and ethical challenges, which include rising travel costs, often gruelling distances between shows, climate concerns and a wider trend for last-minute ticket buying. Live music venue operators in regional areas are also feeling the precarity of the moment, particularly as public liability premiums have climbed steeply since the Covid pandemic began. Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning And with approximately seven million Australians living in rural and remote areas – and the discoverability of Australian music at an 'historical low', according to Creative Australia analysis released this week – reaching these audiences remains vital. Before Kim Churchill's almost-cancellation in Cairns, Brisbane rock trio DZ Deathrays made a similar appeal to fence-sitting ticket buyers in February, sharing that they'd been advised to cancel their show at the Theatre Royal in Castlemaine 'and potentially others' on their regional tour. 'We've decided to run the risk of ruin and continue the show for those who have already bought tickets, but it's unfeasible to run this model much longer,' the band wrote on social media. Speaking to Guardian Australia in April, DZ Deathrays drummer Simon Ridley summed it up another way: 'It's a lot having a thing on sale for three months and having to wait right until the end to figure out whether it was worth it or not.' While the Castlemaine show scraped through, a later gig in Albury, Western Australia, was cancelled after the venue 'got a bit too skittish' about low ticket sales. The previous weekend, their first-ever show in Bundaberg – Ridley and bandmate Shane Parsons' home town – had gone from under 100 presales to becoming the sold-out tour highlight. As Ridley sees it, 'It's just gambling, and some people don't want to gamble.' Gamilaraay singer-songwriter and self-described 'country girl at heart' Thelma Plum is currently travelling Australia for her winkingly titled I'm Sorry, Where is That? regional tour. Growing up between Brisbane and her grandparents' farm in Delungra, New South Wales, Plum recalls the profound impact of seeing First Nations pop duo Shakaya live as a teen. Despite the occasional 'logistical nightmare' of regional touring, she feels an abiding commitment to show up for her fans outside the capital cities. 'Visibility is really important to me,' she says. 'There's just something really deadly and empowering about seeing young Aboriginal girls singing back at me.' Artists hitting the road are also motivated by reaching new listeners who may otherwise not engage with Australian music on streaming services. Creative Australia's latest report found only 8% of the top 10,000 artists streamed in Australia in 2024 were Australian, as listeners increasingly favour music by US artists. Having observed this shift, the MusicNSW managing director, Joe Muller, frames regional touring as an antidote to the 'algorithmification' of music discovery. 'The idea that your audience is in that black box in your pocket, off you go and conquer, has certainly created challenges,' he says. 'We don't have a supply problem. It is a demand problem in the sense that our audiences are looking all across the world for the art they consume, rather than the historic models of looking to their own communities first.' No strangers to regional touring, punk-rock mainstays Frenzal Rhomb are back on the road to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their album A Man's Not a Camel. Now with day jobs and middle-aged commitments, guitarist Lindsay 'The Doctor' McDougall says the band's decision to only book weekend shows is in sharp contrast to their first nationwide tour in 2001, which saw them driving from town to town across three months with Californian bands Mad Caddies and Strung Out. ('Mad Caddies couldn't hack it and went home,' McDougall quips.) His memories of that tour include inviting the 20-odd kids who showed up in Katherine to play with them on stage, and an irate punter in Mount Isa ending the night crying on frontman Jay Whalley's shoulder. Sign up to Saved for Later Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips after newsletter promotion On this latest tour, Frenzal Rhomb is happily a legacy act with multigenerational appeal. 'People who listened to us in the 90s are about the same age as us, but they've all made better financial decisions,' McDougall says. 'They can afford to come and buy tickets for their kids.' Having lost money touring the US, the band are now happy to break even at home. 'It's not like we need to tour here to build up our cash reserves to go conquer some other continent,' McDougall adds. 'We're lucky there's enough people in Australia to come watch us.' With vast distances to cover, often by plane, the environmental impact of regional touring is also a key concern. In 2024, Green Music Australia updated its Sound Country sustainability guide, which includes pointers for musicians on topics such as low-carbon transport, waste reduction, ethical merchandise and First Nations principles. Paul Kelly, David Bridie and Montaigne are among the guide's advocates, as well as Missy Higgins and Regurgitator, who have both publicly strived for carbon-neutral national tours. Muller, who will oversee the next Regional & Remote Music Summit in Byron Bay this July, is focused on sustainability, both in terms of minimising environmental impact and helping regional artists build sustainable careers. Regarding the environmental footprint of regional touring, he argues, 'The impact of delivering one exclusive show in a metro centre and expecting all of your audience to travel in is far greater than getting in the Tarago and meeting people where they live.' The considerations of prominent artists touring regional Australia is just one part of a larger, more complex picture. At the inaugural Regional & Remote Music Summit, held in Darwin last August, music industry experts and policymakers discussed strategies to support musicians living in regional and remote areas, including grassroots and government-backed opportunities to tour. The event's executive producer, Laura Harper, highlights 'inbound' music tourism initiatives such as the Queensland Music Trails as a necessary counterbalance to the 'fly-in, fly-out model of touring'. Harper also notes a shift towards artists and managers booking their own tour routes rather than relying on major tour promoters. 'It's really hard to predict audiences post-Covid,' she says. 'There's not a lot of guarantees now. I think artists are probably a bit more willing to take a risk, because they're the ones trying to build an audience.' And while the perilous state of Australian music festivals draw headlines, Muller points to the 'absolutely thriving' smaller regional festivals that 'really nail the audience experience for the folks who are of that place'. He cites the Aboriginal arts and culture-focused Giiyong festival on the far south coast of NSW, while Frenzal Rhomb's McDougall enthuses about DIY heavy metal festival Blacken Open Air, held on Arrernte country near Alice Springs, which his band are booked to play this September. No matter the hurdles and broader trends, regional touring remains deeply ingrained in the Australian music ecosystem. Remembering how it felt when Frenzal Rhomb and Jebediah played Bundaberg in his youth, DZ Deathrays' Simon Ridley sums up the eternal appeal for artists and fans alike: 'It just means a lot when a band comes through your home town.'
